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USBKill
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<p>USBKill is <a href="/facts/Anti-computer_forensics/EAfjJnns">anti-forensic</a> software distributed via <a href="/facts/GitHub/n1hNCsc3">GitHub</a>, written in <a href="/facts/Python_/YbuGqofa">Python</a> for the <a href="/facts/BSD/XQKcURrh">BSD</a>, <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>, and <a href="/facts/OS_X/Y93vVpTm">OS X</a> <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>. It is designed to serve as a <a href="/facts/Kill_switch/oymcV71g">kill switch</a> if the computer on which it is installed should fall under the control of individuals or entities against the desires of the owner. It is <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a>, available under the <a href="/facts/GNU_General_Public_License/S75KhLSX">GNU General Public License</a>. </p><p>The program's developer, who goes by the online name Hephaest0s, created it in response to the circumstances of the <a href="/facts/Silk_Road_(marketplace)/YQD4n5aT">arrest</a> of <a href="/facts/Silk_Road_(marketplace)/YQD4n5aT">Silk Road</a> founder <a href="/facts/Ross_Ulbricht/yvrEYaul">Ross Ulbricht</a>, during which U.S. federal agents were able to get access to incriminating evidence on his laptop without needing his cooperation by copying data from its <a href="/facts/USB_flash_drive/Jv0qmTCF">flash drive</a> after distracting him. It maintains a <a href="/facts/Whitelist/d00CnYNc">whitelist</a> of devices allowed to connect to the computer's <a href="/facts/USB/XcIKWLyg">USB</a> ports; if a device not on that whitelist connects, it can take actions ranging from merely returning to the <a href="/facts/Lock_screen/jlS2PYce">lock screen</a> to <a href="/facts/Encryption/16q29Fdv">encrypting</a> the <a href="/facts/Hard_drive/kekLSGSE">hard drive</a>, or wiping all data on the computer. However, it can also be used as part of a <a href="/facts/Computer_security/7E5dIy7G">computer security</a> regimen to prevent the surreptitious installation of <a href="/facts/Malware/5ee7TLFR">malware</a> or <a href="/facts/Spyware/NrVdv1by">spyware</a> or the clandestine duplication of files, according to its creator. </p>